Public support for the war against Iraq in Britain has reached its highest level since the build-up to the conflict began, according to a new poll published tomorrow.
A Guardian/ICM poll showed 56 per cent of people were in favour of the war - the highest level since last August.
The four-point rise in support reflected the recent successes of the coalition military campaign, which today saw US tanks roll into Baghdad.
However, support for the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein was still below that recorded for the first Gulf War or the conflicts in Kosovo and Afghanistan.
At the same time the poll showed that opposition to the war fell to its lowest level since the build-up to the conflict, at only 29 per cent - down five points in the last week.
There remained a strong gender gap among Britons towards the war, according to the poll, with support for the action among men at 63 per cent compared with 49 per cent among women.
The poll also found that the support rose mainly among Conservative and Liberal Democrat voters.
The pollsters asked a random sample of 1002 people if they approved or disapproved of a military attack against Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein.
Support for the war was running at just under 30 per cent in January during the build-up to the conflict.
PA